Loomer: Feeding Trump's paranoia
Trump fires National Security Council officials after the conspiracy theorist attended a meeting in the Oval Office

"An unhinged conspiracy monger" now calls the shots on U.S. national security, said Tom Nichols in The Atlantic. Laura Loomer is a "far-right celebrity" who describes herself as a "proud Islamophobe," claims 9/11 was an inside job, and said a Kamala Harris White House would "smell like curry." She has no official role in the Trump administration, and even ardent Trump loyalists call her "toxic," but what she does have is Trump's ear. So, when she sat down last week for a meeting in the Oval Office, armed with a list of National Security Council officials she considered disloyal "neo-cons," Trump seemingly listened. The next day, at least six staffers were fired, followed by Gen. Timothy Haugh, the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief. Trump denied Loomer's role, but if she truly had nothing to do with it, the timing of their meeting is one "hell of a coincidence." Loomer was happy to take credit, said Josh Meyer in USA Today. She thanked Trump for acting on her advice about Haugh and vowed to expose more officials with "questionable loyalty."
Loomer's influence is "supposed to be shocking," but there's nothing surprising about it, said Issie Lapowsky in Vanity Fair. Trump himself is a conspiracy theorist who has embraced "political paranoia" relentlessly for decades, and Loomer knows "what matters to him." Trump can abide almost any malfeasance in his backers. Sexual-assault allegations against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth don't matter to the president, for example. But being charged, even in Loomer's kangaroo court, "with something less than total fealty is a non-starter." Trump admits he's not a trusting person, and that "breeds a voracious appetite for stories of nefarious plots hiding in plain sight." Loomer whispering about turncoats "whets that appetite."
Trump should be careful about surrounding himself with sycophants, said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial. His first-term advisers were willing to challenge his isolationist impulses, and those debates yielded good results, as when a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Loomer's favored "abandon-the-world" faction "would never have had the wisdom" to pull that off. Instead, they could drive Trump into a bad nuclear deal with Tehran, a weak peace agreement in Ukraine, and a failure to deter China from attacking Taiwan. There are real-world consequences to purges like this. Who will risk giving Trump "candid counsel" if they're going to be "tossed out at the urging of an online mob?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 dramatically dysfunctional cartoons about the government shutdown
Cartoons Artists take on life without government, foam finger pointing, and more
-
October 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include the Einstein files, defunding the police, and an odd tribute to Jane Goodall
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Under siege: Argentina’s president drops his chainsaw
Talking Point The self-proclaimed ‘first anarcho-capitalist president in world history’ faces mounting troubles
-
Sarkozy behind bars: the conviction dividing France
In the Spotlight Sarkozy speaks to the press with wife Carla Bruni at his side outside a Paris courtroom after the guilty verdict
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US